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Franchising is like a marriage

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Will the new changes to the Franchise Code ensure more franchisee success?

A new Franchising code was released on the 1st of July. The new fully updated Code Legislation can be downloaded!

More disclosure and a stronger contract will not guarantee franchisee success. Instead, a strong business model, passionate franchisees, and a strong relationship between the franchisor and franchisee benefiting both parties’ needs.

I have been working in franchising for over 20 years.  I was CEO at La Porchetta for fifteen of those years.  La Porchetta began with one restaurant in 1985 and worked hard to get the formula right before opening a second restaurant five years later.  At that stage, franchising was a relatively new business model, and the early pioneers were pretty much starting from scratch to put the suitable business models in place.  At every stage, however, there was a long-term vision in mind. There was a commitment for the long haul.

One of the most important things I’ve learned along the way is that a franchised business has to be sustainable.

In this time, I’ve seen many companies grow quickly for five years or so and then implode.  Having a great model is a start. However, the best way to ensure the longevity of your business is to have the right systems in place with strong recruitment processes and a culture that nurtures the relationship between franchisor and franchisee.   In most cases, franchise businesses that did not make it didn’t pay enough attention to support and the importance of sense checking the franchisee sentiment along the way.

Building a solid framework for sustainable growth means putting systems in place where both the franchisor and the franchisee have profitability and alignment.  Some of the procedures required are not just about financial metrics; nurturing the franchise relationship is equally important.  Otherwise, in the end, everybody loses.

An open and transparent relationship with franchisees is crucial.

A strong relationship is the only way to keep a business healthy and vibrant.  I think of it as a kind of “courtship and marriage” where we get to know each other in the early days and then work hard to create a great relationship where everyone puts in the very best they can.

Franchisees must understand the business they are entering, alongside getting professional business advice to understand the investment clearly. Still, more importantly, franchisees need to be clear on what the commitment will be and the alignment of their values and personal goals.

Some of the franchisee failures that I have seen are not because the franchisee did not understand the legal document but because they did not understand the commitment required to run the business.   Although there are many franchise models to choose from when investigating where to invest, franchisees need to understand what will suit them best and the passion they have for it.

Franchisors need to have robust franchisee recruitment and induction process, where franchisees are clear on what it means to be a franchisee with their brand and the commitment required to succeed.

It may mean that the franchisor says ‘no’, more often.

Saying ‘no’ to prospective franchisees early in the process may mean slower growth.  However, recruiting the franchisees more aligned and ready for the commitment will be more sustainable and lead to more successful businesses.

Along the journey, it is also vital that both franchisors and franchisees re-assess the relationship at least annually and check that it is still working.   I have seen many instances where a franchisee stayed in the brand too long even though they were no longer aligned or passionate about the business.

Succession planning should be discussed openly so that a plan that works for both parties can be devised.

Like in a marriage, if the franchisor and franchisee do not nurture the relationship, it will end badly.

Ciao,

– Sara Pantaleo, Affari SP Founder

Download Franchise Recruitment  Roadmap

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Cash is KIng

Cash is King

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So it’s the end of the financial year, and your accountant reports your business has a nice profit.  You are surprised and tell them you cant understand as you have no money in the bank and don’t know how you will pay the taxes on the profit.

According to a report released by ScotPac in its latest, SME Growth Index 72.5 per cent of small business reported having cash flow problems.  Small businesses with limited financing must focus on earnings and pay attention to cash flow, the actual money resources used to support operations.  What does this mean, and how can business owners track?

Cash Flow and Profitability are Not the Same

Although closely related, cash flow and profitability are different. Cash flow represents the cash inflows and outflows from the business. Profitability represents the income and expenses of the business.

Think of cash flow as transactions that affect your business “Bank account” and profitability as items that impact your “income tax return”.

Cash inflows and outflows show liquidity, while income and expenses show profitability. 

Liquidity = Can I pay my bills?

Profitability = Am I making money?

Cash Flow-Positive vs. Profitability

When your business is cash flow-positive, it means your cash inflows exceed your cash outflows. Profit is similar: For a company to be profitable, it needs to have more money coming in than going out.  So, when you see that you have more receivables than you do payables, it can be easy to assume that your business is making a profit. But that’s not always the case.

Your business can be profitable without being cash flow-positive

You can have a positive cash flow without actually making a profit.

Here’s how to see if you’re cash-flow positive:

Many businesses use accrual accounting, which means your revenue and expenses are recorded, regardless of whether or not cash has been exchanged.

For example, let’s say you send out an invoice for $1,000. This $1,000 will be recorded on your profit and loss statement as a profit—even if you don’t receive payment for said invoice right away.

This difference is critical when your bills come up as due. If you’re still waiting for payment on that invoice, you may not have enough cash on hand to cover the costs.

  • Not having the cash makes you cash flow-negative.

Since profit doesn’t tell you exactly when money is coming in and going out of your business, you will still appear profitable on paper, even if that isn’t in the bank for you to use.

How to Calculate Your Cash Flow

To calculate your cash flow, you have to know how much money your business starts with on the first of the month.

Your “cash on hand” should include precisely that—the cash you have on hand that is readily available to use.

Once you know how much you’re starting with, you’ll subtract all your operating expenses, investment activities, and financing activities.

  • Cash flow will not include any unpaid debt or outstanding invoices.

Let’s say you have five customers and you send five invoices every month.

Let’s also assume your average invoice value is $2000, and your payment terms are NET21 days.

We’ll assume your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) is 50% of your billed amount and that your operational costs are flat at $3000 per month (including rent, employees/contractors, insurance, etc.). In this case, your cash flow chart may look something like this (not taking into account prior balance or actual cash on hand, for simplicity):

Example: Cashflow Calculator

Cash Flow Chart Month1 Month2
Issued Invoices 5 5
Value Per Invoice $2000 $2000
Paid Invoices 0 5
Booked Revenue $10000 $10000
Actual Income $0 $10000
COGS -$5000 -$5000
Operational Costs -$3000 -$3000
Monthly Net Profit $2000 $2000
Monthly Cash Flow -$8000 $2000
Running Cash Flow -$8000 -$6000

If you sent that $1,000 invoice out, but it is yet to be paid, you will not count it as a cash inflow. Instead, you’ll mark it as “collections or accounts receivables” until the invoice is paid.

Or, let’s say you purchase something with a business credit card but don’t pay it off right away. The balance you owe on your card will not count as a “cash outflow” until the debt is paid.

After your calculations, your cash flow is positive if your closing balance adds up to be greater than your starting balance. If it adds up to be lower, your cash flow is negative.

Which One Is More Important to a Business Cash or Profit?

When determining which one is more important, it depends on the business and the circumstances.

For example, a business may see a profit every month, but its money is tied up in hard assets or accounts receivable, and there is no cash to pay employees.

A business may see increased revenue and cash flow, but there is a substantial amount of debt, so the business does not make a profit.

The absence of a profit eventually has a declining effect on the cash flow.

An unprofitable business that is cash flow positive will have a hard time remaining positive for long.

Cash flow is what keeps the lights on

In short, profit can show you how successful your business is, but it can’t tell you if your business has the money to survive long-term.

Ciao,

– Sara Pantaleo, Affari SP Founder

Cash is King Read More »

Leading Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace

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Does Diversity mean better performance?

In the last few months, there has been a lot of news about gender issues and how our Government has handled complaints by women for serious alleged incidents.

Many private business leaders were horrified and I have heard many say, ‘This would never be tolerated in private business!’.

We have strong laws in this country that regulate Occupational Health and Safety, but I have seen many workplaces that have zero focus on Diversity and Inclusion (D&I).

Diversity is generally defined as acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and public assistance status.

The latest McKinsey report, ‘Diversity wins: How inclusion matters’, found that the most diverse companies were more likely to outperform less diverse ones on profitability.

In actual fact, they state that the greater the representation in the workforce, the higher the likelihood of outperformance.

The five areas of action the report highlighted are:

  1. Ensuring the representation of diverse talent – advancing diverse talent in to executive, management and board roles
  2. Strengthening leadership accountability and capabilities for (D&I)
  3. Enabling equality of opportunity through fairness and transparency – Advancing to true meritocracy and leveling the playing field
  4. Promote openness and tackle microaggressions – zero-tolerance policy for discriminatory behaviour
  5. Foster belonging through unequivocal support for multivariate diversity – build a culture where all employees feel they can bring their whole selves to work

Embracing D&I will increase profitability, but the progress of making it a priority is slow, in large and small companies.

I believe part of the reason is that implementing D&I policies may seem overwhelming and organisations are concerned about the risk of unintended negative outcomes.  Such as discrimination and conflict, emanating from employees not accepting the differences.

Simply making pledges and having a policy is not enough when considering D&I policies.  Managing diversity is more than equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.   It’s a comprehensive process for creating a work environment that includes everyone.

Diversity is not about differences among groups, but rather about differences among individuals.

Diversity leadership requires a commitment and understanding that every individual in the organisation contributes to its diversity. 

Leaders capitalising on the skills and talents of an individual who is different on some dimension and making them feel a valued member of the organisation.

Leaders must consider diversity of opinion with the team, find shared ground and reach agreement through focused communication and understanding.

They must incorporate commitment to diversity and inclusion as part of their business strategy and add to their values.

In conclusion, in order to succeed with implementing effective workplace D&I policies and processes and create a culture of belonging, leaders must:

  • Include their team and work together to understand what is best for the organisation based on teamwork and group dynamics.
  • Review constantly. At least every twelve months and adapt as required.

Risks of getting it wrong

There are many benefits of creating an inclusive and diverse workplace where employees feel a sense of belonging.  There is a moral and ethical duty to ensure the safety of employees.  There are also significant risks to the business for failing to take steps to provide a safe working environment. These include:

  • Reputational damage: people ignore it, but one bad news story (or several) can significantly damage your relationship with your clients, employees and the public.
  • Penalties: you can face significant financial and/or criminal penalties for each breach of your state’s occupational health and safety, and discrimination legislation. You can also be on the hook for damages if an individual claims you failed your duty of care.
  • Personal liability: individuals involved in a breach of a business’ duty of care can potentially be held personally liable.
  • Injuries: if an employee is discriminated against, or sexually harassed at work, they may suffer an injury (mental and/or physical), go on leave and/or lodge a workers’ compensation claim.
Download some helpful tools:
Considerations when implementing D&I policies
Questions Leaders need to ask in regards to Discrimination and Harassment

Leading Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace Read More »

Leadership from “The Rock” Versus “The Whole”

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We are continually being challenged as leaders in the ever-changing world of business, but what does it mean to be a leader in 2020 and beyond.

Leaders need to be mindful, present and self-aware.  In anticipating the future, leaders need to shift from known experience to leading together with others and leveraging subtle differences and changes as needed.

Business has become increasingly complex and the days of the individual have shifted to the collective.  From the “Follow me, I know the way” type leader, “The rock” to leading from “The whole”.

Knowing when to take the lead and when someone else in the team needs to take the lead means being flexible and able to empower those around us.  Leaders need to be adaptable, sense the future and focus on the shared purpose of the whole collective.

Leading from the whole

Collective leadership means that we need to focus on being as well as doing.  The balance of both doing and being means;

  • Being in relationships and present with people
  • Noticing the team dynamics and engaging
  • Understanding that it’s not what you know but what you do

It’s not possible for one smart leader to have all the answers. You need to tap into the network and use the intelligence of the people in the team. That way, you can build awareness that you are all part of a whole system.

The Leader is responsible for the team dynamic and needs to read and sense that dynamic.

It doesn’t mean that you don’t set direction and take people forward, but it does mean using the wisdom and intelligence of the whole.  You need to have broad systems awareness and sense what is unfolding in the team in order to arrive at goals.

The future doesn’t always unfold in a straight line.  It’s important to sense the collective and adjust as is necessary.

You need to use collective intelligence as well as emotional intelligence.  Emotional intelligence is about self-awareness and collective intelligence is seeing how you behave as a whole team.  When the collective team speaks as a whole, it’s different to individuals. 

When you lead from the collective you can set a plan, however it needs to be fine-tuned as things evolve.  COVID19 has certainly taught us that this year with the exponential take up of video meetings and adapting to new working environments from home.  Has this made it more difficult for you as a leader to sense the collective intelligence?

Are you conscious and aware of your collective team?

  • How it behaves
  • The beat
  • The wisdom
  • The Pulse

To be a leader who is able to sense the collective and dynamics you will need to be more self-aware and focus on being present, listening and not multi-tasking, distracted and thinking about yesterday or tomorrow?  You need to intentionally and fully connect directly with individuals and your whole team.

In order to achieve true collective leadership, you need to focus on relationships as well as the ROI.  Leading from the whole means not leaving anyone behind.  It means that no one feels alone.

You need to use love, compassion, empathy and companionship to show that you value people.  This requires a mindset in which you implement mechanisms to show you care and support people in what they are going through.

Self-awareness supports leaders with better mental health outcomes and job-related well-being.  It’s not about putting a fruit bowl at reception and having weekly yoga.  It’s about being authentic and developing trusting relationships, improved decision making by incorporating the collective intelligence and leading with the heart as well as the head and gut.

Authentic Leadership

You cannot be authentic if you do not know who you are.  Authentic leadership comes from your values and beliefs.

People trust and will naturally follow authentic leaders. 

In summary Collective Leadership for “The whole” is;

  • You are present and aware of self and of each other
  • The collective team know themselves and each other at the core level.  Each knows their unique talents and strengths.
  • You are aware of the team dynamics and able to co-create and co-lead
  • You are in touch with what is unfolding and able to read the signals and lead for the emerging and changing future

Leading in a VUCA world

The Leadership Coefficient cover this really well in their Leadership course with the Three Principles of Collective Leadership and Silo thinking and Systems thinking.

They talk about living in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world.  This means it is no longer possible for one smart leader to have all the answers and the future is emerging moment by moment.  Jane Weber clearly states in her article of May 2020, that leaders are so distracted that they mostly do not even notice the changes.  Often disruptions still take many leaders by surprise.  She asks, did the taxi industry see Uber coming and hotel industry AirBNB?

If you don’t pay attention to the changes emerging in your whole collective team and stick to leading in a straight line, you may not see what’s coming and survive.

Ciao, a presto.

– Sara Pantaleo, Affari SP Founder

 

Leadership from “The Rock” Versus “The Whole” Read More »

Budget 2020 – What’s in it for SMEs

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Budget 2020

Key message – Economic Recovery Plan for Australia will create jobs, rebuild our economy and secure Australia’s future.

The economy is forecast to grow by 414 per cent next calendar year and unemployment is expected to fall to 612 per cent by the June quarter 2022. Without economic support the unemployment rate would have remained above 12 per cent for the next two years

What’s in it for SMEs

Loss carry-back for businesses

  • companies with turnover up to $5 billion to offset losses against previous profits on which tax has been paid, to generate a refund.
  • Losses incurred up to 2021‑22 can be carried back against profits made in or after 2018‑19. Eligible companies may elect to receive a tax refund when they lodge their 2020‑21 and 2021‑22 tax returns.

Temporary full expensing

  • 6 October 2020 until 30 June 2022, businesses with turnover up to $5 billion will be able to deduct the full cost of eligible depreciable assets of any value in the year they are installed.
  • The cost of improvements to existing eligible depreciable assets made during this period can also be fully deducted.  

Research & Development incentives

  • From July 2021 small companies (those with aggregated annual turnover of less than $20 million) will see the refundable R&D tax offset set at 18.5 percentage points above the claimant’s company tax rate.

JobMaker Hiring Credit  

  • Businesses will receive the JobMaker hiring credit of $200 per week for every worker aged from 16 up to 30 and $100 a week if they hire an eligible young person aged 30 to 35 years, payable for the next 12 months for new hires who work at least 20 hours per week.

Victoria’s business support grants

  • Victorian government’s business support grants for small and medium business as announced on 13 September 2020 non-assessable, non-exempt (NANE) income for tax purposes.
  • The Commonwealth will extend this arrangement to all states and territories on an application basis, with eligibility to be restricted to future grants program announcements for small and medium businesses facing similar circumstances to Victorian businesses.
  • limited to grants announced on or after 13 September 2020 and for payments made between 13 September 2020 and 30 June 2021.

Mental health aid 

  • $7.0 million in 2020-21 to support the mental health and financial wellbeing of small businesses impacted by COVID-19, including:
    • $4.3 million to provide free, accessible and tailored support for small business owners by expanding Beyond Blue’s NewAccess program in partnership with the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman
    • $2.2 million to expand a free accredited professional development program that builds the mental health literacy of trusted business advisers so that they can better support small business owners in times of distress, delivered through Deakin University.

Tax concessions, including changes to FBT

  • Businesses with an aggregated annual turnover between $10 million and $50 million will have access to up to 10 small business tax concessions as part of the 2020–21 budget.
  • From 1 July 2020, eligible businesses will be able to immediately deduct certain start-up expenses and certain prepaid expenditure
  • From 1 April 2021, eligible businesses will be exempt from the 47 per cent fringe benefits tax on car parking and multiple work-related portable electronic devices, such as phones or laptops, provided to employees
  • From 1 July 2021, eligible businesses will be able to access;
    • the simplified trading stock rules, remit pay-as-you-go (PAYG) instalments based on GDP adjusted notional tax
    • and settle excise duty and excise-equivalent customs duty monthly on eligible goods.
    • Eligible businesses will also have a two-year amendment period apply to income tax assessments for income years starting from 1 July 2021.
    • the Commissioner of Taxation’s power to create a simplified accounting method determination for GST purposes will be expanded to apply to businesses below the $50 million aggregated annual turnover threshold

Help to employ 100,000 new apprentices

·        $1.2 billion to help Australian businesses employ 100,000 new apprentices or trainees.

·         Available to employers Australia-wide who engage an Australian apprentice or trainee from 5 October 2020 until the 100,000 cap is reached.

·        Employers will be eligible for 50 per cent of the wages for a new or recommencing apprentice or trainee for the period up to 30 September 2021, up to $7,000 per quarter

Infrastructure spend

  • $7.5 billion new investment towards transport infrastructure projects
  • Spread across all states and territories, including
    •  $560 million for the Singleton Bypass on the New England Highway in New South Wales;
    • $528 million for the Shepparton and Warrnambool Rail Line Upgrades in Victoria;
    • $750 million for Stage 1 of the Coomera Connector (Coomera to Nerang) in Queensland;
    • $88 million for the Reid Highway Interchange with West Swan Road in Western Australia;
    •  $200 million for the Hahndorf Township Improvements and Access Upgrade in South Australia;
    •  $150 million for the Midway Point Causeway (including McGees Bridge) and Sorell Causeway as part of the Hobart to Sorell Roads of Strategic Importance corridor in Tasmania;
    • $120 million to upgrade the Carpentaria Highway in the Northern Territory; and $88 million for the Molonglo River Bridge in the ACT.

Modern Manufacturing Strategy

  • $1.5 billion in funding over next four years
  • Mainly $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative, which will support projects within six National Manufacturing Priorities, including;
    • resources technology and critical minerals processing;
    • food and beverage;
    • medical products;
    • recycling and clean energy;
    • defence; and,
    • space.

Digital plan

$800 million to get businesses towards adopting digital technologies to grow their business

  • $419.9 million towards the full implementation of the Modernising Business Registers (MBR) program, allowing businesses to quickly view, update and maintain their business registry data in one location
  • $256.6 million will go towards developing a digital identity system to enable more secure and convenient engagement with government services
  • $28.5 million will be invested in supporting the rollout of the Consumer Data Right to the banking and energy sectors.
  • $22.2 million will be spent on supporting small-business operators take advantage of digital technologies through an expansion of the Australian Small Business Advisory Service – Digital Solutions program, a Digital Readiness Assessment tool and a Digital Directors training package.

For Women

As part of its $50 million Women@Work initiative, the Government is expanding the existing Women’s Leadership and Development Program (WLDP) to $47.9 million. As part of this, the Government is graduating two key, proven programs to “WLDP partner” status:

  • Expanding the Master Builders Australia’s Women Building Australia program to support more women into the highly male-dominated building and construction industry; and
  • Expanding the innovative Enterprising Girls program to give girls and young women across Australia the skills and opportunities to start their own businesses in the digital economy.

An additional $35.9 million will be invested in the existing Boosting Female Founders Initiative to support up to 282 additional start-ups and 4,300 women entrepreneurs. As part of this ongoing support, we will link Female Founders up with expert mentoring and advice for women entrepreneurs. As a key measure in the 2018 WESS, this initiative is already on track to support over 100 businesses to build their potential.

SME guarantee scheme

The Coronavirus Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Guarantee Scheme is supporting up to $40 billion of lending to SMEs (including sole traders and not-for-profits) by guaranteeing 50 per cent of new loans issued by participating lenders to SMEs.

  • It commenced on 23 March 2020 and closed for new loans on 30 September 2020. The Scheme has now been extended and enhanced to support businesses in recovery and to enable continued support for SMEs facing the ongoing impacts of the Coronavirus.
  • Phase 2 of the Scheme commenced on 1 October 2020. Phase 2 includes targeted amendments to the Scheme’s parameters to meet the evolving needs of SMEs.
  • Phase 2 of the Scheme will continue to support lenders’ ability to provide credit and ensure that SMEs benefit through low interest rates.
  • will be available for loans made by participating lenders until 30 June 2021

For more information including on how to apply for a loan go to: https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/sme-guarantee-scheme

Financial Distress

A safety net will apply to lessen the threat of actions that could unnecessarily push your business to being wound up or forced into insolvency or bankruptcy during this time. These changes will enable more Australian small businesses to quickly restructure and to survive the economic impact of COVID-19.

For more information go to: https://budget.gov.au/2020-21/content/factsheets/download/insolvency-reforms-factsheet.pdf

– Sara Pantaleo, Affari SP Founder

Budget 2020 – What’s in it for SMEs Read More »

Life after COVID19 – So what happens after the Crisis is over?

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Am I stating the obvious when I say that in all the years, I have been in business I have never seen such a challenging time in personal and business life?  When creating a Crisis Management Plan, you review and identify all the potential risks and then prepare a set of processes to deal with each situation.  I can safely say that on all the plans I have worked on, a pandemic was not on that list!

So, my question is, what happens when the COVID19 health crisis is over.  Do we go back to normal? What does normal look like?

There is no doubt in my mind that the hospitality industry will never be the same.  We already new that large footprint restaurants were needing to reduce their foot print, has COVID19 exponentially accelerated this?  

We are all now very settled into working, eating, exercising and entertaining (via video) from home.  What will this mean to office spaces, a city such as Melbourne with all the fast-casual lunch time food outlets?

When lockdown ends there will be an initial honeymoon with influx of patrons and this will need to be managed well.  As well as a Covid19 Safe plan I believe that food businesses will also need to ensure that they have a plan for diversification.  How will they now reach the percentage of population which is working from home and not returning to offices.  The most important factor I believe will be how they stayed in touch with their customers now, as well as ensuring that they develop different reasons for patrons to return to dine in. The planning and preparation should be occurring now, not when lockdown is over or when we have a vaccine!

We have been dealing with the current health concerns and we must appreciate that even though we have made mistakes, Australia has managed the situation well and our health professionals have been outstanding.  Listening to various doctors and nurses it is evident to me that they are being tested professionally and emotionally, with some of them also having to separate from their families to keep them safe.  We thank and commend them and appreciate all that they are doing for us.

For our personal welfare we need to stay connected and ensure that we look after each other.  Belonging is one of our most fundamental human needs and during this time it has been very difficult to connect.

While you are working on your return to work plan and recovery, as well as all the business strategies, ensure you include the care of your people.  What will you put in place to ensure everyone is ok and dealing well with the new transition?

On a positive note our environment has been doing well during this time which shows that we can make an impact and this dispels the idea that we cannot improve our conditions.  Let’s keep the momentum.

For me, this time has meant many hours spent with my husband and kids enjoying fresh cooking, walking and just hanging out.  I will definitely continue to do this after lockdown as I have really enjoyed it immensely.

Stay safe and keep smiling.

Ciao, a presto.

– Sara Pantaleo, Affari SP Founder

Life after COVID19 – So what happens after the Crisis is over? Read More »

Why I love Family Business

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Growing up Italian had its benefits but also its disadvantages.  I loved that we celebrated all occasions as a family but disliked being the youngest, and a girl. I had to do the dishes.  In our house there was always a lot of chaos and yelling, but there was also a lot of commitment and love.  

Sadly, my father passed away when I was eight and I did not know my eldest brother very well because he was working in North Italy for many years to provide for us. 

We migrated in Australia in 1977 and we all came together even though my brother was established in Turin.  From the moment we arrived my brother worked really hard in two jobs until he bought the first restaurant with his partner in 1985. 

I was the only one in my family who went to school in Australia and I pursued a career in IT. I worked for one of the top banks and was doing very well in amazing roles; IT operations, service management and support.  At the time 70% of bank employees were women but only 3% had roles in senior management.  I felt like a number in the strong hierarchical structure and felt unappreciated and insignificant no matter what I did.  I did not feel like I was having an impact.

The benefits of family business

So in 1996, I joined the family business my brother co-founded. I was to set up the distribution centre for 12 Italian restaurants.  Saying that I got a culture shock is an understatement.  Where previously I specialised in each role, working in the family business meant I had to learn fast- if I did not know how to do something, I just had to do it anyway.

Sara Pantaleo celebrates family business | Inside Franchise Business

The pressure was immense and it was a sink or swim environment but I loved it.  I felt a sense of purpose and knew that everything I did mattered, even if sometimes I made a mistake and I had to be accountable.

When there was work to be done, we worked long hours.  When there was success, we celebrated together.  As we grew the family business my responsibilities developed and I created a diverse team that worked together and built a sense of community where everyone felt part of the family.  

That family culture hasn’t changed.

Most of the franchisees we recruited at La Porchetta, are small, family-run enterprises and some of those families have been with the brand for more than 20 years, with the second generation now involved as well.  They serve their customers and build relationships with them so much so, that their children and grandchildren have now become customers. 

Franchisees and their staff are treated like extended family members and all of them are part of their local community.

I am now working with my children to create a family business for them and empower them to grow and leave a legacy for their children.

We all need to feel we are part of a community, whether it’s our family, school, work, worshipping, sports club or any other group. Having a sense of community promotes the mental health of everyone involved, from children to the elderly.

Family business is part of local community

Long-lasting, positive and meaningful emotional connections are part of the fabric of a happy society.  Sometimes we take our communities for granted and it’s great to just step back, take a breath and look around us at the wonderful people we share our lives with.   At this time in particular, I am sure that we are all reflecting on this.

I love family business because no matter how large or small the business, that sense of community and celebration is always there. 

I also love the fact that through the family business I did get to know my brother and spend many years learning from him – and teaching him a little at the end. He listened and it didn’t matter anymore that I was his little sister because we not only loved each other as siblings, but we respected each other as family members working in business together. 

The sense of community and family is particularly alive in franchising.  The franchisor and franchisee relationship is sometimes compared to a marriage, where the relationship will break down if open communication is lacking.  Similarly, successful franchise systems have a strong sense of community with an open and transparent relationship.  I have seen firsthand many franchisees succeed by harnessing their family talents and working together.  

Celebrate family business | Inside Franchise Business

So, I invite you to celebrate with me National Family Business Day 2020 on the 18th of September and recognise all the local hardworking family businesses that are the backbone of the Australian economy – many of them in franchising.  If you would like to find out how to get involved in this day click this link; https://www.familybusiness.org.au/about-us/fba-national-family-day

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